Leong Sze Hian's $45,000 bail for Lim Tean to be forfeited

Blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian forfeited his $45,000 bail posted for lawyer Lim Tean on Thursday (Sept 17), after the Court found that he had failed to fulfil his obligations as surety.

The amount comprises $30,000 in monetary security for one case and $15,000 in non-monetary security for another.

Arguing against the forfeiture, Leong, 72, said he had done his best in fulfilling his duties, pointing out that he had contacted Lim on Aug 2, a day before the 61-year-old lawyer was to surrender himself.

Leong added that there was "constant contact" between him and Lim, including when Lim was required to be present at the police station or in court.

He also said that there was communication between Lim and his lawyer, up to the day he was supposed to surrender himself.

"So given the circumstances, I had no reason to believe that he was going to run away," Leong told the court.

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, a bailor is required to keep in daily communication with the released person and lodge a police report within 24 hours, if contact is lost with the person on bail.

In addition, a bailor is required under the Court to ensure that the released person is within Singapore, unless the person has been permitted by an authorised police officer or the court to leave Singapore.

In arguing for the bail amount to be forfeited, Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong said that Lim had failed to keep to the requirement of daily communication.

He pointed to the fact that Leong was not in touch with Lim on the day of his surrender, only doing so after he was contacted by a police officer.

District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt told Leong that he had agreed to take on certain duties and responsibilities, including the associated conditions, when he stood bail for Lim.

Given that Lim had left Singapore without the permission of the court, Leong had failed to fulfil his duties as bailor, Judge Chay added.

Lim Tean convicted in 2024

Lim was convicted in July 2024 of three charges under the Legal Profession Act and was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of $1,000 by a district judge in February 2025.

But that was increased to three months and one week after a judge agreed with the prosecution that his original sentence was "manifestly inadequate".

The opposition politician was declared bankrupt in April this year, and was also fined $30,000 over his conduct in handling a former client's money.

Lim was originally supposed to surrender on July 20, but had asked for an adjournment so that he could settle his personal affairs.

But he failed to surrender for his jail term on Aug 3 and a warrant of arrest was issued.

His lawyer, Revi Shanker, told The Straits Times that Lim was fully aware that he had to surrender to the State Courts at 12pm, but had failed to do so.

“I’m puzzled as to why he didn’t show up. He was still messaging me in the morning, but he became uncontactable after that,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.

Lim was later arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police in Johor Bahru on Aug 6 and deported to Singapore.

He was arrested by the Singapore Police Force upon his return on Aug 11.

Following his arrest, two Singaporean men, aged 37 and 44, were charged for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to defeat the course of justice by assisting Lim to leave Singapore for Malaysia .

博主兼财务顾问梁思贤（Leong Sze Hian）于周四（9 月 17 日）被法院没收了为律师林添（Lim Tean）缴纳的 45,000 美元保释金，此前法院认定他未能履行作为担保人的义务。

其中一宗案件的担保金额为 3 万美元，另一宗案件的担保金额为 1.5 万美元。

72岁的梁先生对没收财产提出异议，称他已尽力履行职责，并指出他在8​​月2日联系了林先生，也就是61岁的林先生投案自首的前一天。

梁先生补充说，他和林先生之间一直保持着“密切联系”，包括林先生被要求到警察局或法庭出庭的时候。

他还表示，直到林某应该自首的那一天，他都一直与他的律师保持联系。

“因此，鉴于当时的情况，我没有理由相信他会逃跑，”梁先生告诉法庭。

根据《刑事诉讼法》，保释人必须与被保释人保持每日联系，如果与被保释人失去联系，则必须在 24 小时内向警方报案。

此外，法院规定必须有保释人，以确保被释放人留在新加坡境内，除非该人已获得授权警官或法院的许可离开新加坡。

副检察官布莱恩·黄在要求没收保释金时表示，林某未能遵守每日沟通的要求。

他指出，梁某在林某投降当天并没有与他联系，而是在一名警官联系他之后才与他联系的。

地方法官蔡元发告诉梁，他同意在为林某保释时承担某些职责和义务，包括相关条件。

鉴于林某未经法院许可离开新加坡，梁某未能履行其作为保释人的职责，蔡法官补充道。

林添于2024年被判有罪

2024 年 7 月，林某因违反《法律职业法》三项罪名被定罪，并于 2025 年 2 月被地方法官判处六周监禁和 1000 美元罚款。

但法官同意检方的观点，认为他最初的判决“明显不足”，因此刑期增加到三个月零一周。

这位反对派政治人物于今年4月被宣布破产，并因其处理前客户资金的行为而被罚款3万美元。

林原定于7月20日投降，但他请求延期，以便处理个人事务。

但他未按时于 8 月 3 日到监狱服刑，因此签发了逮捕令。

他的律师雷维·尚克尔告诉《海峡时报》，林完全清楚他必须在中午 12 点到国家法院报到，但他却没有这样做。

“我很困惑他为什么没来。早上他还在给我发信息，但之后就联系不上了，”律师说道。

林某于 8 月 6 日在柔佛州新山被马来西亚皇家警察逮捕，并被遣返回新加坡。

他于8月11日返回新加坡后被新加坡警方逮捕。

林某被捕后，两名年龄分别为 37 岁和 44 岁的新加坡男子被指控参与阴谋妨碍司法公正，协助林某离开新加坡前往马来西亚。